Terrorist Financing: U.S. Agency Efforts and Inter-Agency Coordination
Abstract
Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, there has been significant interest in terrorist financing. Following the attacks, the Administration's strategy to combat terrorist financing was focused foremost on freezing terrorist assets. In the months immediately following the attacks, substantial funds were frozen internationally. After this initial sweep, however, the freezing of terrorist assets slowed down considerably. According to the Department of the Treasury's "Terrorist Assets Report," as of December 2004, programs targeting assets of international terrorist organizations have resulted in the blocking in the United States of almost $10 million. Of the $1.6 billion in state sponsors of terrorism's assets located in the United States, $1.5 billion have been frozen by U.S. economic sanctions. Of that $1.5 billion, the assets of Libya, which were blocked on September, 20, 2004, made up all but $425 million. According to many analysts, these numbers are very small and seem to support the 9/11 Commission's conclusion that the United States must follow the money for intelligence. As detailed in the March 2005 U.S. Department of State International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, the United States has a three-tiered anti-money laundering, counter-narcotics, counterterrorist financing strategy that employs traditional and nontraditional law enforcement techniques and intelligence operations to disrupt and dismantle terrorist financiers networks; capacity-building programs to improve the domestic financial, legal, and regulatory institutions of U.S. allies; and global efforts to deter terrorist financing. Implementing this strategy requires coordination of many different elements of national power, including intelligence gathering, financial regulation, law enforcement, and building international coalitions. Following a review of legislation on terrorist financing, this report provides an agency-by-agency survey of these U.S. efforts.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 03, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA444936
Entities
People
- Martin A. Weiss
Organizations
- Library of Congress